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I have never been to get my own cockles before, have only ever got them from shops. I am hoping to "catch" my own this year as I think the season is open for it? but do I use a net? bait pump? rake? bucket? all the above? lol. also any tips and tricks would be great? like what to look for? apart from the obvious, look for cockles :P also how to store them till I get home? and any other random things people would like to tell me, can never have enough information. thanks, hope you all have a great weekend

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Reports say they are pretty thick, just dig with your hands in the wash, its like digging up pebbles..no need for a pump, rake net etc.. just your hands and a bucket to put them in. Fill a bucket with water and they will still be alive when you get home.Look for other people catching cockles. Go there, talk to them, try different things, you'll get it its easy.

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All you need are your hands and feet and a bucket to put them in. The cockles are anywhere from just short of the high water mark down to the low water level. At the moment they are out a bit deeper so low tide is easier.Wade out a bit and twist your feet. You will feel them under your bare feet and can pick them up by hand. Remember to take a measure as many are undersize. If you are not getting any, try shallower or deeper and keep moving down the beach. When you hit a patch you can pull dozens without moving very far.Put them in an esky and keep them cool

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Going down Friday after work and going to give it a go - never tried it before! I'ts a bit of a hike from here in Nuri but it'll be nice and wa rm and outgoing tide will be almost out by the time I get there, hopefully I can get a years worth as I don't use them heaps but so exspensive to buy when I do want them.

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Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted ImageI use baskets, others use onion bags, but you will need something to put the cockles into while doing runs back and forth to your esky.Put enough saltwater into the esky to cover the cockles, and keep them cool.I no longer bother since the new limits were introduced. Like yourself, I live out the northern side of town, and it's a bl**dy long drive from where we are.....we'd eat that many and still have none for bait.My suggestion, if'n you're gonna do it, borrow all the neighbours kids for the day, to gain extra collecting hands (300p/p).Dont forget, 35mm minimum size!And if you're splashing around in the shallows there........that water gets bl**dy cold, hence the wetsuits! Another tip, always face towards the waves, coz turn your back and you're gonna get swamped.If you purge them properly first, they aint just bait either. Chopped fresh garlic, chopped fresh chili, a coupla spoons of chili/garlic sauce,put the lid on until they open, discard any which dont open:Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image
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Taking the mrs and one of her friends so that'll get my numbers up but I wont have heaps of time and really just doing it more for the experience. I reckon I paid something like $18 for 1kg of cockles last year (from Ards) for bait so It wouldn't take many to pay for the fuel there... plus sunshine, beach and beer - I can't think of anything better really :)

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Drove down there after work this arvo, done it during low-tide. Got 900 between 3 in about an hour and a half - just using out hands and feet. Occasionally thought we were onto a cluster to find out it was a sand crab haha. The last half hour was crazy none of us even had to move just stayed in the same spot with our feet in the same holes and they came to us. About 1 in every 20 was under-size, so many biggins! 1st time ever doing it, me, the mrs and her friend had fun. Chips and vinegar on the way home, a wicked way to start the weekend I say.... Now to use up all these damn cockles! I'll be giving half a away to get rid of them all before I'm ready for a trip next year :silly: P.s. been trying to convince the misses to cook some up and try them to eat - no luck though... she eats scallops, muscles, oysters, snails and frogs legs but wont try a damn cockle! Guess that means more bait for me though B)

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stand about ankle deep in the water, about half tide is best...then "do the twist" (just like you did last summer) up come the cockles throw them in a net or bag, something that won't get washed away in the back-wash..(kid's are good for holding and grabbing the get away's...keep them in an esky in salt water till you freeze them..if you're gonna eat them...purge them in fresh SALT WATER overnight..cheers

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I went yesterday with the kids. I wouldn't say we found thousands (the kids helped for all of 5 minutes, then made sand castles for the rest of the time), but probably a couple of hundred in an hour or so, but they were all big. I used a combination of sitting in the wash and digging for them with my hands, and digging for them with a little foldable shovel.I saw another bloke using an interesting technique which looked to be effective. Had a little wire basket the size of a small bin, and using a long handled shovel just kept digging and putting all the sand in the basket. As the water rushed in and out it washed away the sand and left the cockles behind in the cage. It took him about 15 minutes to collect what I did in an hour. Very effective and it would take all of 2 minutes to make a wire basket from some old bird cage or chicken coop mesh.

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